Why You Should Always Defend an Apprehended Violence Order
Rochelle Macredie B.A. B.Sc LLB
Solicitor*
The advice in the following article relates primarily to the law in New South Wales. Interstate readers will need to make their own enquiries in order to ascertain whether the legal situation is the same in their jurisdiction.
First of all, we need to define two terms used. The first term is “Applicant” and the second is “Respondent”.
Applicant means the person who applies for an order in this context.
Respondent means the person on whom the order is made.
What Is an Apprehended Violence Order?
An Apprehended Violence Order (“AVO”) is an order made in a Court to protect a person from actual or potential violence.
In the State of New South Wales, they are of two basic types, namely, apprehended domestic violence orders which relate to violence between parties who are in a domestic situation and apprehended personal violence orders, which relate to parties who are not in a domestic situation. The same concept is available in other States within the Commonwealth of Australia.
If your ex-spouse applies for an AVO against you, do turn up at court and do defend that application, otherwise you may find yourself in a position where you lack credibility. Don’t presume that just because you’re innocent that your innocence will be sufficient to protect you.
An excellent reference in legal matters is to be found in the Law Handbook (13th Ed) Redfern Legal Centre Publishing 2014. This book is available for retail sale, free online and is also to be found in most reference libraries.
*Rochelle Macredie is a Solicitor in NSW working with McKenzie Friends. She practices with the Sydney firm Oliveri Attorneys and can be contacted on 0407 896 832 or by email at rochellelawyer (at) gmail.com